Embodiments of the subject matter disclosed herein generally relate to devices and methods for curing nail gels and more particularly to light emitting diode “LED” equipped devices that may reduce overall curing time, generate less heat, be easier or less expensive to operate or maintain, or may reduce the level of extraneous secondary UV light to which a user is exposed outside the confines of the fingernail gel curing device.
Consumers use nail coatings to cosmetically enhance the appearance of their nails or protect the nails from the abuses found in their everyday environment. However, nail coating compositions typically lack the durability desired by consumers or are difficult to apply or remove in terms of time or effort. The lack of durability is often evidenced by a chipping or peeling of the coating soon after the original coating has been applied, requiring at least in part a reapplication of the coating in an attempt to recreate the aesthetic appearance or the therapeutic benefits of the original nail coating.
Traditional nail coatings generally include two varieties: polish type, which cure by solvent evaporation, and polymer type, which cure by chemical reaction. Polymer type materials include, for example, powder/liquid systems and gel systems.
Gel systems, in contrast to the traditional polish and other polymer-type systems, particularly ultraviolet-cured gel systems, often comprise a gel that may be brushed onto the nails, cured, and shaped to create lifelike artificial nails. As compared with traditional polishes or other non-gel polymer-type systems, gel systems are relatively easy to use, are applicable in less time, are lightweight on the nail, have no odor (or only minimal odor), are durable, and have a high quality shine.
While thicker nail coatings may in general be more desirable due to their richer color or greater durability of the finished nail coating, it can be challenging to reasonably rapidly and substantially cure the entirety of the coating after its application. This is especially true for thicker or more highly pigmented UV-curable gel-based nail coating systems. This may be due, in part, to the nature of these coatings. For example, while UV light may readily penetrate the outermost regions of the coating composition to initiate the cure, the higher levels or darker hues of certain pigments in some coating compositions may limit penetration of the UV radiation into the innermost regions of the applied gel coating composition and thus increase the time required to substantially cure the entirety of the coating.
Often there is also a trade off in the choice of nail coatings between a particular coating's durability and its ease of removal. For example, some prior art gel coating compositions, while durable, cannot be readily removed by typical “soak-off” procedures and require a more laborious removal process. Alternatively, while some prior art gel coating compositions are very easily removed; those properties may lead to premature chipping or peeling of the coating, requiring additional maintenance or reapplication to stabilize the coating's overall appearance.
Lilley (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,391,938, 6,803,394 and 6,599,958) discloses certain light cured nail coatings that are applied to natural nails or artificial nail tips for cosmetic purposes and methods of their use, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety.
Haile (PCT published Application WO 2011/011304 A2) discloses certain radiation curable gel nail coating compositions, kits comprising such compositions and their methods of use, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,130,553 discloses a device for forming artificial nails by curing a jelly-like visible light-curable resin. The device reportedly employs fluorescent lamps to cure a gel thinly applied to fingernails.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,712,473 discloses a fingernail gel curation device that allows an individual to rapidly cure and dry fingernail gel that has been applied to their fingertips, thereby saving time for individuals and preventing unnecessary ultraviolet light exposure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,523 discloses a device employing a radiation source of essentially horseshoe shape placed within a housing that reportedly provides for essentially uniform ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of all the nails of all the fingers of a hand of a user.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,367 discloses a nail drying device including a housing having lower and upper adjustable portions and including an ultraviolet light source enclosed therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,697 discloses a self-enclosed workstation box having side access ports with built-in sleeve guards, a removable viewing shield, a storage bin inside of the box with a holder on the bin cover for storing and supporting supplies thereon. Reportedly, the viewing shield can be hinged to the box for allowing access to the entire interior of the box.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,762,425, Strait discloses a portable device for curing gel nail preparations utilizing UV light to cure gel nail preparations as applied to finger and toe nails. Strait notes that the device can be used to treat one or both hands or one or both feet with no changes or adjustments required.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,804,074 discloses a lightray treatment device, whose lightray treatment chamber reportedly can be accessed by the left, as well as the right hand, without a change in the position of the lightray treatment device or a change in the posture of the body of the user being required.
US Published Patent Application No. 20110036997 discloses a device containing an ultraviolet (UV) light source, which generates UV radiation by LED in lieu of a UV lamp, for curing nail gels. The design is said to improve the efficiency of the device.
A wide range of devices for curing photo-curable nail finishes are known in the art. In some cases, these devices suffer from the buildup of heat that is co-generated by the lamps used to cure the nail finishes. If not removed, the heat may lead to improper or incomplete curing of the finish or discomfort to the consumer. In other cases, the light source utilized or its light distribution is inefficient leading to long curing times with concomitant radiation overexposure to hands or feet, or incomplete nail finish curing. Other known devices fail to shield the consumer from radiation that may escape the device. Still other devices employ radiation sources that require maintenance or exchange on a short time cycle to perform satisfactorily. Yet other designs are cumbersome, costly to manufacture, or require the consumer to maintain uncomfortable positions during the curing operation. In certain other devices, access to the working surfaces of the unit for, inter alia, general cleaning or hygienic operation is limited by the design itself.
What is needed are devices that efficiently cure photo-curable nail gels or nail gel systems without buildup of significant heat while employing radiation sources that rapidly and substantially cure the gels without unnecessarily irradiating the consumer's hands or feet. Devices are also needed that are cost effective in use or require less maintenance than prior art systems, especially those that are inexpensive to manufacture, easier to clean, have a smaller footprint, or are portable in design. Still other devices are needed that substantially shield the consumer from radiation that escapes the confines of the device during the curing operation. The subject matter disclosed herein is directed to these and other important ends.